


Missing Scenes

by Catflower_Queen



Series: The World's Treasure [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-14 01:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5725477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catflower_Queen/pseuds/Catflower_Queen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at what might have been going on behind the scenes during the gameplay of "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky". Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time to Heal

**Author's Note:**

> These chapters are not written in chronological order, nor is there a set timespan between the chapter. Some chapters are even different points of view of events that happen around the same time. It should be clear when each of the chapters take place relative to each other and gameplay, though.

Chatot sighed, giving one last glance towards the room before shaking his head and slowly making his way down the hallway. When he exited into the main area, he saw that the apprentices were huddling together in small groups, quietly talking among themselves. When they noticed his appearance in the room, all talking ceased as they quickly gathered around him.

It was silent until Dugtrio found the strength to ask what was on everyone's minds. "How are they doing?"

Chatot sighed. "Azelf seems the least injured. He had some gashes and bruising from where he fell to the ground, but it's mostly exhaustion. Whatever he did to set up that crystal barrier almost completely drained him of energy, so it wouldn't have taken a lot of effort to beat him. He'll be fine after he rests."

Dugtrio gulped. "And… and Team Rainbow?" he asked.

Chatot closed his eyes and took a big breath. Once he had composed himself, he launched into his explanation. "Paula… appears to have taken a great number of blows to the chest. Her ribs aren't broken, but they _are_ heavily bruised. She also has a large number of gashes, the largest being the one across her cheek-likely resulting from Grovyle trying to injure one of her electrical pouches-and the one on her upper arm."

"Is… is her electrical pouch okay?" Croagunk asked, showing an out-of-the-ordinary amount of compassion. No one was too surprised, though. After all, the poison glands of a croagunk were similar to the electrical pouches of a pikachu in that both were in roughly the same area on the cheeks, and if something damaged them it would either severely lessen the amount and power of the electric/poison attacks that could be produced or it would leave the pokémon unable to use any electric/poison attacks at all. If anyone in the guild could empathize with Paula about such an injury, it would be Croagunk.

"Yes, thank Arceus, her pouch wasn't damaged. But it was very close," Chatot explained. "Aside from that, Paula will be fine once she gets over her exhaustion."

Everyone sighed in relief. But the relief was short-lived when everyone saw how Chatot's face had rapidly drained of color and he had to close his eyes. "Laura, however…"

Everyone glanced at each other, sharing looks of terror, before Sunflora asked, "O-oh my gosh… what's… what's wrong with Laura?"

Chatot had to look away and take a shaky breath. He was very quiet when he gravely answered, "Laura… I am honestly fearful of her chances for survival."

Everyone displayed looks of horror.

"Hey, hey! You're joking, right? There's no way that's true!" Corphish begged.

"What's the matter with her?" Chimecho whispered in despair.

"When that… that _criminal_ ," Chatot spat the word out with venom, "threw her to the side at the end of the fight, he broke her arm. Unlike Paula, Laura's ribs _were_ broken, and on some parts of her body her skin was so cut up that it resembled ribbons. The amount of blood she lost… at this point, her immune system will be too weak to handle something as simple as a cold without leaving her…" he trailed off, unwilling to complete the sentence, before shaking his head. He sighed, continuing, "It appears that she tried to take the brunt of Grovyle's attacks, likely because their matching types would make the moves less effective on her. And all that is leaving aside her exhaustion." When Chatot finished, he bowed his head and whispered, "At this point, all we can do is wait and hope for the best."

Everyone was silent and teary-eyed.

"Well…" Loudred began. "At least her LEG wasn't broken. Then she'd have to try limping around like a NORMAL treecko, for once."

With that, Sunflora practically exploded at him. "OH MY GOSH!" She shrieked. "Loudred, why would you even SAY something like that?! Did you not hear what Chatot said? Laura could _DIE_ , and you're over here making jokes about how she walks!"

"C-calm down, Sunflora! He didn't mean to ridicule her," Chimecho said in an attempt to soother her friend. "He was just trying to look at the positive side of things… _right_ , Loudred?" Chimecho asked, glaring at him in a way that said "Your answer better be 'Yes' or you will be in a _world_ of pain."

Loudred gulped. "The p-positive side of things… RIGHT…"

"Well it DIDN'T WORK!" Sunflora yelled again before she burst into tears and started sobbing into her leaves.

Loudred and Chimecho tried to calm her down while Chatot turned to the remaining guild members.

"Where did Guildmaster Wigglytuff go?" he wearily asked.

"Oh," Diglett began, tearing his eyes away from the scene of the distraught Sunflora. "He, ah, he went to get Officer Magnezone to tell him of the recent developments," Diglett explained. "He didn't want to go, considering…" he trailed off, looking towards his injured friends. He sighed before continuing, "But he figured that there might be a chance to catch Grovyle if we acted quickly."

Chatot nodded his approval before asking, "Has the great Dusknoir returned yet?"

Bidoof shook his head. "No siree. No one's seen him since we left for Crystal Cave."

"All right," Chatot sighed.

"Hey, hey… you should get some rest, Chatot. We'll look after Team Rainbow and Azelf for you," Corphish offered, seeing Chatot's exhaustion.

"Thank you," Chatot said, giving a weak smile. But the smile quickly became a frown when he added, "Be sure to wake me if… if anything happens."

"Um… is there anything we can do to help them at all?" Chimecho asked timidly, looking away from Sunflora now that her sobs had trickled into small sniffles.

Chatot sadly shook his head. "The only thing we can do for them now is give them time to heal."


	2. Awake

Azelf's eyes flew open as he awoke with a start. He shot upright, into the air, only for his extreme dizziness to cause him to immediately fall back down. He groaned as he waited for the world to stop spinning. Once the dizziness subsided, he glanced around suspiciously at his surroundings. He was in a circular room. Judging by the roots growing in the walls, he was underground. But there was a window to the outside… did that mean the room was in the side of a cliff? It was dark out… but Azelf couldn't tell if it was night or day.

Azelf glanced at the exit. He couldn't _see_ anything that would prevent him from leaving, but that meant nothing. After all, you couldn't see his crystal barrier until he activated it. Azelf frowned. Come to think of it… he couldn't really remember what had happened after he activated the barrier. He could vaguely recall the blurry images of two Pokémon rushing up to stand between him and the thief… but that was it.

A soft sigh broke Azelf from his musings and he immediately stiffened. He slowly glanced to his right and noticed that there were two other beds in the room, and that both had pokémon sleeping in them who, judging from the excessive bandaging, were heavily injured. He frowned as he observed them. The one closest to him was a pikachu. She had a large bandage plastered over her cheek and another on her upper arm. She had her ribs wrapped up tightly, and she had faded bruises here and there.

The treecko beside her was in even worse shape. Her arm was in a splint and her ribs were even more heavily wrapped than the pikachu's. The parts of her skin that weren't covered in bandages displayed bruises of mottled shades of purple. He winced in sympathy. Then he frowned. The two looked so familiar… but why?

Azelf snapped his fingers when the realization hit him. Those two had been the ones who had rushed to his rescue once he had erected the barrier! But from the looks of it… Grovyle had really put them through the wringer.

"You have my thanks," Azelf murmured.

"Oh my gosh! You're awake!" A cheery voice came from behind him. Azelf whipped around in surprise.

A sunflora was standing at the room's entrance, pressing her leaves to her cheeks and looking gleeful. "Oh wow! This is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I just came in here to check on you. I didn't expect that you'd be awake!"

"I… huh?" Azelf stammered, her exuberance throwing him for a loop. "I, uh… Who are you?"

"Oh! How silly of me! I'm Sunflora, an apprentice at Wigglytuff's Guild," she explained.

"I take it that's where we are, then?" Azelf asked, gesturing to his surroundings.

"Yes! We brought you here after you collapsed at the lake."

"What of Grovyle?" he inquired.

The Sunflora sighed. "We don't know. By the time we got there, he had already left…"

"But obviously not before giving those two a serious beating," Azelf said, glancing back at his two saviors.

"Eek! Oh my gosh! I almost forgot about them! How embarrassing!" Sunflora exclaimed, hurriedly picking up a box of medical supplies that she had dropped in her excitement at seeing Azelf awake.

She tended to the pikachu first. She cleaned her wounds and changed her bandages before re-fluffing her pillow and pouring a liquid concoction of healing seeds and berries down her throat. When she moved to the treecko, Azelf noticed that the bandage around the pikachu's arm was no longer there, likely because the injury had healed.

In surprise he noted that the only thing Sunflora did for the treecko was re-fluff her pillows and give her the healing liquid.

"You aren't going to change her bandages as well?"

Sunflora shook her head. "No," she sighed. "Paula's condition has improved enough that I can tend to her, but I'm still too inexperienced to handle a condition as critical as Laura's. Chatot will have to come do it later."

"I understand," Azelf nodded. Then he paused as something she had said repeated in his mind. His eyes widened. "Did you say 'Laura'?"

"Yeah," Sunflora said, cocking her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, that's… no," he assured. He glanced over at Laura before frowning and shaking his head. "I… a long time ago I knew a girl with the same name… but there's no way the two are the same. It just… brought up some memories. That's all. I'm fine."

Sunflora shrugged. "If you say so. Ooh! Now that you're awake, you should come out and see the rest of the guild!"

* * *

Sunflora dragged him out to the main area. A cheerful chimecho gave him something to eat while the rest of the guild filled him in on what had happened after he collapsed. He reacted with shock when he found out that he'd been sleeping for two full days and it was now the morning of the third day. As he hung out with the guild he noticed that they were all very friendly and cheerful, but their friends' conditions muted their joy.

Azelf assured them he had felt a strong will to recover from each of them-a will that was especially strong in Laura, for some reason-and they brightened up a bit.

Azelf stayed at the guild for two more days, and he was just as glad as everyone else when Chimecho finally rang her bell and announced, "Everyone! They're awake!"


	3. Rumor

Grovyle stuck to the shadows as he travelled. It was times like these that he almost missed the paralyzed future; it was certainly easier to hide in the shadows when the shadows were everywhere. But when that thought crept into his mind, Grovyle always pushed it away. This bright world was _far_ better than the paralyzed one… even if it _did_ make hiding inconvenient.

Grovyle slowed down when he noticed the bell on the post near the crossroads. His heart leapt with a mixture of hope and anxiety. The bell meant that he was at the border of his destination-Treasure Town. On the one hand it was good because it meant that soon he'd get a decent shot at some information... but it also meant that he would need to excercise extreme caution. He had a greater chance of being recognized here. Not only was the town near the famous Wigglytuff Guild, but history had said that explorers often visited Treasure Town. Plus, he still had no idea if Dusknoir had stopped chasing him yet.

* * *

"When I heard the rumor, I just couldn't believe it!" the swellow exclaimed as he flew above his wurmple partner.

"It does seem a bit rash," the wurmple agreed.

"Oh, speaking of rash things… it would be rash for us to be unprepared for the dungeons. Are you sure we have enough food?" the swallow inquired. "After all, it wouldn't be good to get hungry because we ran out!" the swallow laughed.

"H-hungry? Eep! N-no, that wouldn't be good at all!" the wurmple agreed, suddenly terror-stricken as he eyed his partner suspiciously.

From his hiding place behind the bush, Grovyle watched them leave. He shook his head in silent mirth. _"What? Does he expect that his partner will try to eat him?"_ Grovyle wondered. _"What an absurd thought…"_ He frowned. _"Still… that's the third reference I've heard so far to a mysterious 'rumor'… what's going on?"_

He carefully and quietly made his way over to the Kecleon brothers' shop and hid in the bushes behind it. The few dungeon operated shops in the future had always been staffed with chatty kecleon employees. If _these_ kecleon were anything like their descendants, then one of them would likely coax the rumor out of their customers, if they didn't let it slip themselves.

Grovyle could hear voices. The kecleon were talking to someone. He grinned to himself, _"Looks like I came at the right time."_ He peeked through the leaves of the bush and was shocked at what he saw. _"It's_ those _two!"_

Indeed, standing mere feet away from him was the duo who had twice tried to stop him, first in the Underground Lake and then in Crystal Lake. He took a moment to observe them.

The pikachu seemed no worse for wear. Her injuries from their recent "scuffle" appeared to have healed nicely. Grovyle was relieved to see that her electrical pouch wasn't damaged from where he had clawed into her cheek. He shifted his eyes over to the treecko… and was decidedly displeased.

The treecko still had multiple bandages wrapped around her body, and he could still see evidence of severe bruising. He noticed that her arm was in a sling. _"I guess I broke it after all… I_ thought _I heard a snap,"_ he winced. " _Poor girl. That must make it hard to walk. I remember what it was like being a treecko… I_ hated _having to walk on four legs. I was so jealous of-"_ Grovyle stopped that train of thought and shook his head. _"What am I doing? I need to concentrate on the conversation!"_

"…and that shipment of Oran Berries will arrive tomorrow," the green kecleon was saying. "Although, we do have three or four in stock if you need them immediately," he added, giving a meaningful glance towards the injured treecko.

The treecko blushed while her partner assured, "No, we're fine for now. Chatot said that he'd have some medicine ready when we got back from talking with you. We're confined to doing small errands for now, since he hasn't cleared us for exploration yet."

The pikachu frowned at this, but the older, purple kecleon gently said, "That's probably for the best. That thief gave you two some serious injuries! Honestly, Paula, we were surprised you two even showed up at the meeting!"

The pikachu-Paula, Grovyle corrected himself-smiled at her partner. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff gave us permission to stay home, but my friend here was very insistent that we go. Even if she _did_ almost faint afterwards," she teased.

Everyone laughed when the treecko huffed indignantly and pointedly looked away, blushing. Even Grovyle couldn't hide a grin at the girl's apparent stubbornness. He quickly sobered up as the purple kecleon continued to talk.

"Still, that rumor… it really is an ingenious plan!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," the green one agreed. "Sealing away the Time Gears… will it really work?"

Grovyle froze. _They're… they're going to seal away the Time Gears? This… this is terrible! I have to do something!"_ he internally panicked. He quickly fled the scene in order to plan out his next move.

Unbeknownst to him, the treecko was staring at the spot where he had just been hiding.

* * *

"I mean… how can we be sure he'll even hear of the rumor?" the younger kecleon asked his brother.

The purple kecleon shrugged. "I suppose we'll just have to hope for the best." He noticed that Laura was looking intently at the bushes behind their shop. "Laura? All you all right?" he asked with concern, causing his brother and Paula to cast their gazes on her.

Laura blinked and looked back at him before quietly saying, "I'm fine. I thought I saw something."

Paula frowned and went over to look. "I don't see anything," she said as she peered into the bushes. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked, frowning at her friend in concern. For a response, Laura rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"In any case, shouldn't you be heading back to the guild?" the green kecleon asked. "You said something about medicine…?"

"Oh! Right!" Paula exclaimed. "Come on Laura, let's get going!"

Laura sighed as Paula led her back through town. "Honestly, Paula, I'm _fine_ ," Laura insisted.

"You're just saying that because you don't want to drink that disgusting medicine anymore," Paula joked. Laura rolled her eyes and Paula became serious again. "Really, Laura. I know you say you're feeling better, but everyone just wants to make sure. You heard what Chatot said: you almost died!"

Laura merely sighed in resignation as they continued their trek back.

"Hey! Team Rainbow!" they heard a voice call. The duo paused and glanced back to see Vigoroth hailing them.

"Hey, Vigoroth! What's up?" Paula greeted.

"I've just been wandering around Treasure Town, you know? And I just _had_ to share this with you. You know how Grovyle's been stealing all the Time Gears? Well, I just heard this _amazing_ rumor…"


	4. Plain Seeds

It had been a few weeks since Team Rainbow had joined the guild, and they were settling in nicely. However, they still had a few questions about the guild's inner workings.

"So you're saying that Chimecho cooks all the meals? Every single day?" a surprised Paula asked Dugtrio one night as everyone waited for the call to dinner.

"Of course," Dugtrio replied in a somewhat condescending manner. "Did you not notice that she is never out here with the rest of us, waiting for dinner?"

"Of course I _noticed_ ," Paula huffed. "I just thought there was, like, a weekly rotation, or something."

"No," Dugtrio stated. "Chimecho is the only one who cooks."

"Well, she's not the _only_ one," Sunflora corrected, suddenly joining in on the conversation. "She doesn't do it _every_ day… just most days."

"And she doesn't get tired of it?" Paula asked in disbelief. "I'd get tired of it pretty fast. Wouldn't you?" she asked, turning towards Laura who had, as usual, been listening without giving any comments. Laura shrugged in response.

"She told me she likes to cook," Sunflora said before she gave a smile and crept closer to Team Rainbow. "Besides… I think she's trying to impress someone," she confided in a whisper, cupping a leaf to her mouth.

"Really? Who?" Paula asked in her own whisper. Sunflora pointed in Croagunk's direction. "What? No way!" Paula exclaimed loudly. Laura winced at the noise and several other pokémon turned in her direction.

"Eek! Not so loud!" Sunflora exclaimed, putting one leaf over Paula's mouth and putting the other to her lips in a shushing gesture. "It's just a theory. And do _not_ tell her I said that! It's too embarrassing!"

"We got it, Sunflora. We won't tell a soul," Paula assured, with Laura nodding in agreement.

"Everyone! Dinner's ready!" Chimecho suddenly called from the dining room.

"HOORAY!" Everyone cheered.

* * *

Everyone stared at their plates when they sat down.

"Ugh… _Plain Seeds_?" Loudred complained, staring at the big pile of seeds on his plate. "Why'd you use _THEM_?"

"We had a lot in the larder," Chimecho explained, just as unhappy as everyone else. "If I hadn't used them today, they would have gone to waste."

"So what? Plain Seeds are DISGUSTING!"

"Oh, hush!" Chatot reprimanded (although he silently shared the sentiment). "Just eat them. If your plate isn't clean by the end of the night, then no dinner for you tomorrow!" he decreed. He looked out at the apprentices (and Wigglytuff) to see the many expressions of disgust and added, "That goes for all of you!"

Everyone grumbled as they grudgingly began to eat. Laura, however, just looked confused.

"I can't BELIEVE we actually have to EAT this," Loudred grumbled to Bidoof, who was sitting next to him.

"Oof… I have to agree with you there," Bidoof said. "Even _I_ don't like it."

"Hey, hey! I have an idea…" Corphish whispered conspiratorially, motioning Loudred closer.

* * *

"Ugh… we were _already_ forced to eat Plain Seeds once today when we ran out of food in the dungeon!" Paula complained to Laura, who was eating in silence. "Just our luck! I can't believe we have to eat them _again!_ "

Just then, Paula and Laura's plates were pulled away from them. "What the-? Hey!" Paula spluttered while Laura jolted in shock.

"Sorry, it's newbie initiation," Loudred smirked as he pushed their plates back over to them. There were considerably more Plain Seeds on them than there had been before. "You have to eat all of our Plain Seeds!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Paula complained as she looked over at Loudred and Corphish, whose plates were now empty of the offending food item.

"Sorry, rules are rules!" Corphish said in a sing-song voice.

Paula huffed, crossing her arms and staring at her plate. "I can't believe this," she muttered. She glanced over at Laura, who was calmly eating her meal. "How can you just sit there so calmly and e _at_ that?" Paula asked incredulously, gaping at the sight.

Laura frowned. "It tastes good."

Everyone abruptly stopped what they were doing to stare at her in shock.

"Oh my gosh! You actually _like_ this?" Sunflora asked in disbelief.

"Of course. I love Plain Seeds!" Laura answered.

Sunflora just stared at her in shock before snapping back to reality. "Here then! You can have mine!" she offered.

"Mine too!" Bidoof exclaimed.

"And mine!" Wigglytuff shouted.

Soon everyone had given Laura their Plain Seeds (and Chatot had turned a blind eye to it because he, too, had secretly given his to her) and she was staring at her plate with amazement.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed before she happily dug in. Everyone watched in wonder.

"Meh heh heh… yet another thing to add to the list of 'Weird Things about Laura,'" Croagunk chuckled. "Who would've thought that someone existed who actually _liked_ eating Plain Seeds?"

 


	5. Quiet

"Hey, hey! It really _is_ odd," Corphish said to Bidoof and Loudred. They were waiting in their room for the other apprentices to gather so that they could begin their nightly meeting.

"Meh heh heh… What's odd?" Croagunk asked as he entered the room, followed by Chimecho and Sunflora.

"Indeed," Dugtrio added as he and his son surfaced from travelling underground. "What are you talking about?"

"Team Rainbow has been here for, what, four days?" Corphish asked. "In all that time, have you ever heard Laura speak? At _all_?"

"Hm... now that you mention it…" Sunflora pondered, before coming to the conclusion, "Oh my gosh! I haven't!"

"YEAH! She doesn't say the cheers... she doesn't speak at dinner…" Loudred began listing.

"To be fair, she might not have the cheers memorized yet," Chimecho said in defense.

"Yeah, but _dinner_?" Loudred insisted. "You'd think that she'd at LEAST want to voice her opinions THEN."

"I have seen her nod her head in agreement before, so she obviously _is_ listening," Dugtrio noted. "She just seems to let Paula do all the talking."

"Yup yup! I can vouch for that!" Bidoof agreed, nodding his head. "I was showing them around a few days ago, and Paula was the one asking all the questions."

"So, hey, hey! Why doesn't _Laura_ ever speak?" Corphish demanded.

"Perhaps it's not so much that she _doesn't_ speak, but, rather, that she _can't_ speak?" Chimecho offered.

"Oh my gosh! You think she's mute?" Sunflora asked in surprise.

"I suppose… it _would_ make a certain amount of sense," Dugtrio said slowly.

Everyone pondered that for a moment.

Loudred shook his head. "In ANY case… Where ARE they? We can't start without them!" Loudred said.

"Sorry we're late!" Paula suddenly called as she and Laura entered the room and took their seats. "The Kecleon brothers just delivered the Pecha Berries that Chatot ordered, and he asked us to help him bring them in," she explained.

"FINALLY!" Loudred huffed. "Let's get STARTED!"

* * *

"Meh heh heh… So, did anything interesting happen to anyone today?" Croagunk asked.

"Oh my gosh! Yes!" Sunflora exclaimed. "Today I went on a mission to find a ring that Nidoking had lost so that he could use it to propose to his true love, Nidoqueen!"

"Did she say yes?" Chimecho asked eagerly.

"Uh huh!" Sunflora replied with a huge smile.

"That's great!" Chimecho said. Then she looked to Croagunk. "Speaking of true loves… how are repairs coming on _your_ true love, the Swap Cauldron?" she asked.

"Not too well," he admitted with a frown. "It will take a bit longer."

"That's too bad," Diglett agreed. "No one interesting visited the guild today… what about you two, Paula? Did you do anything cool?"

"We did three jobs in Drenched Bluff today!" Paula exclaimed. She began to tick them off on her fingers. "Um… we defeated an outlaw… we found a missing plusle… and we delivered an item to a piplup."

"What sort of item?" Dugtrio inquired.

"Um… it was a weird one… what was it…?" she turned to Laura. "It was a berry, wasn't it?"

Laura nodded. "An Oren Berry," she reminded her. The apprentices stared in shock.

" _That's_ right!" Paula exclaimed, snapping her fingers and remaining oblivious to the stares. "I remember thinking it was weird that anyone would ask for an item that injures you when you eat it." She turned around to face the others. "Don't you think it's… strange…?" she trailed off when she noticed the stares. "Uh… why are you looking at Laura like that?"

"She SPOKE!" Loudred exclaimed, coming out of his shocked stupor.

"Uh… yeah? Why are you so shocked?" Paula asked, still not getting it, while Laura merely looked around in confusion.

"She's never spoken _before_!" Corphish said as an explanation.

"Oh my gosh! We thought you were mute!" Sunflora exclaimed. She looked at the dumbfounded expressions on Team Rainbow's faces and blushed. "Eek! I'm so sorry! How embarrassing!" she exclaimed, covering her face with her leaves.

"Meh heh heh… it's not such a far-fetched conclusion to come to, given the fact you _never speak_ ," Croagunk stated, giving Laura a pointed look.

Laura blushed and looked down. "I speak _sometimes_ ," she defended. "Just not _often_." She looked back up, meeting the gazes of her fellow apprentices. "I'm not _mute_ ," she said. "I'm just… quiet."


	6. A Question for Another Day

**A Question for Another Day**

There was silence as the odd trio wandered through the dark world… a silence enhanced by the lack of wind and natural sounds. Their very footsteps seemed to echo in the still air.

Grovyle was very focused and moved swiftly. He was a bit disgruntled by the fact that he had to slow down to accommodate the duo from the past, but he supposed he could live with it. He would glance back occasionally to make sure the two were keeping up.

The pikachu (Paula-that was her name, he remembered) was slightly behind him, to his right. She wore a grim expression as she glanced around. He didn't blame her. For one who grew up in the bright world of the past, it had to be a horrific shock to see the state of things _here_. That aside, she was keeping up okay.

A glance back and to the left revealed the other half of the pair: a treecko (whose name he still didn't know, he realized. He contemplated asking, but thought better of it. It wasn't important now). He was actually surprised at how well she was keeping up. For one thing, she still bore injuries from the fight at Crystal Lake (along with all the _new_ injuries she'd gotten from the paralyzed world), and for another, she was moving in an unnatural way. Treecko were supposed to walk on four legs, but here _she_ was, running on two like it was the most natural thing in the world. He was a bit jealous, since he had _loathed_ being confined to four legs when he had been a treecko many "years" ago, but he could handle it.

What he could _not_ handle, however, was the staring.

Ever since he began travelling with the two, the treecko had stared at him non-stop, with a frown on her face. And she wouldn't tell him why.

Actually… she didn't really say much of _anything._ And that gave Grovyle an idea on how to get her to explain her stares.

"You don't talk much, do you?" he suddenly asked her. In a low voice, of course, to decrease the chances that someone would hear them and attack. He slowed down a bit so that he could catch her reply... assuming she _gave_ a reply. When all she did was turn her frown into a surprised expression, he elaborated, "Aside from answering my question at the stockades, you haven't said one word this whole journey. I mean, it's good to stay as silent as possible when travelling in this world… but you didn't even talk in Treasure Town-back in the _past_."

"Wait a minute!" Paula exclaimed loudly, coming to an abrupt halt and forcing Grovyle and her friend to stop as well. "When were you-?"

"Shush!" Grovyle demanded, a claw to his lips. "Do you want someone to hear you?"

Paula immediately clapped her paws over her mouth. "Sorry," she whispered. "But when were you in Treasure Town?"

"Just after our encounter at Crystal Lake. It's where I heard the rumor about the Time Gears being sealed away," he answered. He scowled as he added, "By the way, I did _not_ appreciate that trick you all pulled."

"Well _we_ didn't appreciate the attempted murder!" Paula shot back.

The treecko frowned in thought. "Were you hiding behind the Kecleon brothers' shop?" she asked.

Grovyle's shock that she had been aware of him back then was so great that his jaw dropped and he could only nod in response.

"I _thought_ I had seen something in those bushes," the treecko muttered. "Guess I was right."

For a few moments Grovyle remained unable to get over his shock at the idea that he had almost been spotted in the town. But he soon got past it so that he could get to the root of his _real_ curiosity. He didn't really care if the treecko talked or not (so long as any hypothetical talking didn't pose a danger to their safety, of course). He was used to having a quiet partner. "In any case," he began, "now that I've actually got you giving responses that are longer than one word… would you mind telling me why you've been staring at me this whole time?"

The treecko frowned. She glanced away for a moment before looking back at him and stating, "You're hurt."

Grovyle snorted. "So are you."

"No, I'm not," she said. "At least… not like you and Paula are."

"What do you mean?" Paula asked, perplexed.

"Our wounds are different," the treecko insisted.

"Of course they are," Grovyle huffed, annoyed at how she was stating the obvious. "We've all been in different battles and taken different attacks."

"I'm talking about our wounds from the stockade," the treecko explained, glaring at him for not taking her seriously.

Paula and Grovyle glanced at each other before Grovyle slowly asked, "What do you mean?"

"You and Paula… the sableye really slashed you up. But they barely put a _scratch_ on me."

Grovyle frowned and moved closer to her, examining her wounds and then comparing them with his own. His frown deepened when he repeated the process with Paula and realized that she was right.

"But why would they…?" Grovyle muttered to himself, thoroughly confused.

"And another thing… I'm pretty sure someone changed my bandages while I was unconscious," the treecko continued uneasily.

"What makes you say that?" Grovyle asked, his eyes jumping to her face in surprise.

"Before we got dragged here, I had bandages on my leg," she exclaimed, pointing down at her left leg. "From where… um…" she glanced away, and Grovyle realized that she was talking about an injury he had given her. "Anyways," she continued, looking back at him, "when I woke up in that cell, they were gone. But none of the others were. But they _had_ changed colors."

Paula gasped. "You're right! The ones that the guild put on you were _white_ … these are _blue_!"

"Someone soaked them in Oran Berry juice," Grovyle breathed. "But that doesn't make any sense… it's almost like… like they didn't want you to have any injuries…"

"But then… if that were true, why did they tie her up to the stockade?" Paula asked.

"Better question: If they didn't want her hurt, why drag her to this dark world in the first place?" Grovyle asked, looking at the treecko. All she could do was frown; she was just as confused as he was.

Grovyle sighed and shook his head. "Well, whatever the reason, we can't stay here any longer. We have to get moving."

The duo nodded and began following him once more. The treecko had lapsed again into a silence (which was thankfully stare-free) while her partner alternated between glancing at her and the surroundings.

" _It's an important question, that's for sure,"_ Grovyle thought to himself, giving one last glance at the treecko who, for some reason, received mercy and medical attention from her jailers. _"But I can't worry about it at the moment. Right now I have to concentrate on getting us back to the past. I'll have to leave it as a question for another day."_


	7. Swap Cauldron

**Swap Cauldron**

Croagunk hummed to himself as he stirred the brew in his Swap Cauldron.

"Hiya, friendly-friend!" came a voice from behind him.

Croagunk looked over his shoulder to see Wigglytuff standing there. "Me heh heh… Hello, Guildmaster," Croagunk greeted, putting down his spoon and turning around fully. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing great!" Wigglytuff replied with a smile. "But I've been meaning to ask you something…"

"Meh heh heh... Oh?"

"Chatot says that the swap cauldron is very important… but how does it work?"

"It's simple, really. Meh heh heh…" Croagunk began. "Say someone was offering up a three-starred item that you wanted. You'd have to put five items-it doesn't matter the star count-into the Cauldron, and then the trade would start."

Wigglytuff frowned. "But what if I didn't want an item with five stars?"

"The fewer the stars, the fewer items you have to offer up in return. Or you could…"

"But what if I didn't want an item with a star on it?"

Croagunk stared at him. "They aren't literal stars," he explained in a flat voice. "That just stands for their rarity."

"Oh… Now I get it!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "So if I want a rare item, I just have to offer a lot of _less_ rare items?"

"Meh heh heh... _Now_ you've got it," Croagunk nodded. "Then I'd put them in the cauldron, stir it up, and they would be swapped with the rarer item."

"Wow! That _is_ wonderful!" Wigglytuff said. "I want to try!"

"Meh heh heh… All right," Croagunk shrugged, turning back to stir his cauldron. "Bring me some items, and I'll see what I can do."

"Okay!" Wigglytuff agreed, rushing off to his room.

The second he left, Chatot flew over. "Excuse me, Croagunk? The Guildmaster and I have been thinking of putting Chimecho in charge of a service that would allow teams to add more members. Since you already run a successful business here, I was wondering if you could talk with her… give her some advice. She's in the upper level."

"Meh heh heh… You want me to talk with Chimecho…? Sure," Croagunk replied, not even thinking twice about it, before putting down his spoon and heading to the upper level, completely forgetting about Wigglytuff's desire for a swap. Chatot followed him up.

* * *

"Okay! I brought some items!" Wigglytuff exclaimed happily, as he rushed over to the Swap Shop… only to find it empty.

"Huh? Friendly-friend Croagunk's not here?" he questioned, looking around. "Hm… well, he said that all you have to do is put in the items and stir… I bet I can do it myself!"

Wigglytuff skipped over to the Swap Cauldron. "I want a Perfect Apple, so I should get one if I offer these less rare, ordinary Apples!" he reasoned, dumping a bag full of them into the cauldron.

He began to stir it… but nothing happened aside from the Apples dissolving into a gooey mess. "Hm… maybe I need a different item!" he exclaimed, rushing off.

He didn't notice the spoon begin to dissolve…

* * *

Meanwhile, Croagunk, Chatot, and Chimecho were still talking in the upper level.

"… and keeping an organized list of every transaction-or added member, in your case-is key," Croagunk finished explaining.

"That makes sense," Chimecho nodded. "Do you enjoy running your own business?" she asked.

"Meh heh heh… Definitely," he replied, giving her one of his rare smiles. "Whenever I do a swap… it makes me happy. If anything were to happen to my Swap Cauldron, I'd-"

" _KA-BOOM!"_ the sound of an explosion came from the lower level. The shockwaves knocked Croagunk and Chatot over.

"Squawk! What in the world…?!" Chatot asked as he dashed over to the ladder.

Once he made his way down, he was met with quite a sight: A strange, stinking, purple mist filled the air, causing him to cough. Loudred was flat on his back, dazed from… whatever it was that had happened, and he could hear Diglett frantically calling up for an explanation. He looked around for the source of the explosion… and his gaze landed on the Swap Cauldron. Or, rather, on the _remains_ of the Swap Cauldron.

The cauldron was a wreck. An acidic, black liquid had bored holes into the bottom and was oozing onto the ground. Chunks of the cauldron's side had been completely blown off, and it had tipped over.

"Oog…" Wigglytuff groaned, sitting up from where he had been blasted across the room.

"Squawk! Guildmaster! What happened?!" Chatot frantically demanded.

"I wanted a Perfect Apple… so I tried swapping some items for it… but it didn't work," Wigglytuff explained, sniffling from sadness.

"A Perfect Apple?" Chatot asked in confusion. "Squawk! Guildmaster, you can't use the Swap Cauldron to swap for a Perfect Apple!"

"B-but Croagunk said that all you had to do was put in an item, and then-"

Chatot cut him off, "Yes, an _exclusive_ item! What did you put in it?!"

"Apples... and Blast Seeds…" Wigglytuff admitted.

"Squawk! _Blast Seeds?!_ "

" _AUGH!_ "

A shriek resounded from the bottom of the ladder. Chimecho was hovering, her hands over her mouth in shock, looking at the mess in the Swap Shop. Croagunk, the source of the shriek, had fallen to his knees in horror. "WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO MY BEAUTIFUL SWAP CAULDRON?!"


	8. Questions

Chapter 8: Questions

"Hey, hey! So… I have a question, Laura," Corphish began.

It was dinnertime at the guild, and the atmosphere was brighter than it had been in weeks. Team Rainbow had finally returned after being dragged into the dimensional hole by the not-so-great-after-all Dusknoir! Paula's recount of their adventures and the knowledge of what was _really_ causing time to go out of whack dampened the cheer a bit, but, overall, everyone was in a joyful mood. However, there was one part of the tale that bothered Corphish…

Laura looked up at him from her plate of Plain Seeds and cocked her head, giving him silent permission to ask.

"So Paula told us all about your time in the paralyzed future, and about you being Grovyle's partner, but… hey, hey! I don't get why you didn't tell us when you first joined the guild," Corphish explained.

"…That's a GOOD point," Loudred realized. "Why DIDN"T you tell us?"

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Sunflora exclaimed. "We could have helped you!"

Laura blushed and looked down at her plate.

"The thing is... she couldn't actually _remember_ any of that," Paula explained, shifting around uncomfortably with the realization that, ironically, she and Laura had forgotten to mention that fact to the guild.

"HUH?" Everyone asked.

"She has amnesia."

" _HUH_?!"

"The first thing I can remember is waking up on the beach and meeting Paula," Laura quietly admitted, refusing to look up.

"Golly!" Bidoof exclaimed. "So you couldn't remember _anything_ else?"

"Well, she _could_ remember two things," Paula said.

"Oh? What two things?" Dugtrio asked.

"The first was her name, and the second was that she used to be human," Paula explained.

  
"I see… so you used to be human," Chatot repeated, nodding his head. Then he blinked as that statement set in. "Wait, what?! Squawk! You used to be _human_?!" Chatot exclaimed with incredulity. Laura blushed again and nodded.

"But… how does something like that happen?" Diglett asked.

"Grovyle said something about an accident when they were travelling back through time," Paula offered, frowning.

 

"What kind of accident could have caused THAT?" Loudred asked. Laura just shrugged.

"Meh heh heh… I suppose this _does_ explain a few things about you," Croagunk said. Laura cocked her head in confusion, so Croagunk elaborated, "Well, for one thing... the way you walk. Meh heh heh… It's unnatural for a treecko, but if you're _supposed_ to be something else…"

"Ah. Muscle-memory," Dugtrio nodded. Then he added, "That would probably explain the silence as well. Paula _did_ say that it was safer to stay quiet when you were travelling around in the dark future."

"…That's probably part of it," Laura quietly agreed. Then she glanced away, looking uneasy. "But…"

"But…?" Everyone prompted.

Laura shuffled her feet before looking back at the assembled group and reluctantly replying, "I think there's more to it than that. Grovyle… once he realized who I was, he explained a bit about my past. But for a lot of the questions I asked… it seemed like he didn't want to answer. And some he just outright _refused_ to answer…"

"Golly! That _is_ strange!" Bidoof agreed.

"Well… he was probably just worried about re-collecting the Time Gears," Chimecho said, trying to find an explanation. "I bet that once Temporal Tower gets fixed, he'll tell you anything you want to know."

Laura sighed. "I hope so. I have a _lot_ of questions."


	9. The Dimensional Scream Ability

“Golly! It’s just so amazing!” Bidoof exclaimed. “Pokémon can come from the future? Who knew?”

Similar exclamations were being heard all throughout the town square. The meeting had already ended, but the citizens of Treasure Town still needed time to absorb the news that the great Dusknoir was from the future and had come to the past in order to stop the thief, Grovyle, from causing the planet’s paralysis.

“YEAH!” Loudred agreed. “And the plan is PERFECT! All we have to do is spread a rumor, and then—BAM! Grovyle gets caught!”

“Oh my gosh! That part should be easy for _you_ , Loudred! With your ridiculously loud voice, you won’t even have to leave the guild for Grovyle to hear it!” Sunflora teased.

“HEY!” Loudred exclaimed indignantly. “It’s not THAT loud!”

Corphish shook his head; Loudred was totally in denial. “Still… hey, hey! It’s too bad that we can’t get in on the action…” he said. Then he glanced to his right. “Although… I suppose that’s for the best in Team Rainbow’s case.”

Everyone turned to look at the aforementioned team. They had only just awoken mere hours ago after being unconscious for four days, and they were still in pretty bad shape. Paula still had bandages around her ribs and on her cheek and Laura… Laura was a wreck.

“Heh heh… yeah, I guess we’re still kinda beat up…” Paula said, blushing and chuckling nervously.

Laura didn’t say anything, but this time it wasn’t because of her naturally quiet demeanor. No, this time it was because she was beginning to feel very lightheaded… and spots were starting to crowd her vision…

“Laura?” Bidoof worriedly asked when he noticed her start to wobble unsteadily on her feet. Her face became ashen and she began to tip over…

Sunflora shrieked, “Eek! Laura!”

* * *

 

“Grovyle is very cunning,” Dusknoir told the spirit trio. “He usually resorts to trickery, such as effect-causing items, but he’s also strong when it comes to fighting.”

“I understand,” Uxie said, nodding. “We also have some tricks up our sleeves…”

“Oh?” Dusknoir asked, his curiosity peaked. “Do tell.”

“Well, for one thing, I’m good at illusions. For instance: my Groudon illusion. It’s so realistic that pokémon _truly_ believe they are fighting Groudon, so they still take damage, even though it isn’t _actually_ real.” Uxie explained. “Even if you _know_ it’s an illusion, it still tricks your senses enough that your body falls for it, even if your mind doesn’t.

“I see… so if you made an illusion of, say, a sandstorm…?” Dusknoir prompted.

Uxie nodded. “He would be damaged by it, or quickly run out of items while trying to get rid of it.”

“Excellent!” Dusknoir commended.

“I could manipulate his emotions, to make him feel despair or hopelessness,” Mesprit offered. “It might make him easier to fight.”

Dusknoir shook his head. “No, that won’t work. He’s trained himself too well; he’ll just ignore those feelings and carry on. He’s very strong-willed.”

“Perhaps I could help, then,” Azelf piped up. “My powers allow me to feel out someone’s strength of will, so that I can manipulate it to either increase it or dampen it.”

“Yes… that could work very nicely…” Dusknoir mused.

“Although…” Azelf began with a frown. Dusknoir looked back to him.

“Although what?”

Azelf shifted. “If his strength of will is anywhere near Laura’s level… I might have a bit of trouble.”

“Oh? What’s so special about Laura’s willpower?” Mesprit asked.

“It was abnormally high,” Azelf explained. “She was very adamant about coming to the meeting, even though the other members of the guild tried to persuade her and Paula to stay home. Even _I_ tried to use my powers to ‘persuade’ her, but… nothing much happened.”

“That’s very strange,” Uxie agreed. “I don’t think _that’s_ happened since… well, _you_ know.”

The other members of the trio nodded almost wistfully while Dusknoir frowned at something in Azelf’s statement.

“Excuse me, Azelf?” he interrupted. “Why would the guild try to dissuade Team Rainbow from coming to this important meeting?”

“You didn’t notice their bandages?” Azelf asked in surprise.

Dusknoir slowly nodded his head. “I did see them, but I am not aware of the extent of their injuries,” he admitted.

Azelf sighed. “Well, today is the first time they’ve been conscious since the fight at Crystal Lake. Paula had some bruising and gashes—one that nearly damaged her electrical pouch—but Laura… she almost _died_.”

Dusknoir was aghast.

“And she _still_ insisted on coming here?” Mesprit asked incredulously.

Azelf shrugged. “Like I said, her willpower is incredible.” Then he paused for a moment and frowned. “Although… at the moment, it seems like it’s wavering a bit…”

Dusknoir snapped his attention to Azelf. “What?”

“Yeah… it almost feels as if she’s about to—”

Azelf was cut off by Sunflora’s shriek of, “Eek! Laura!”

“F-faint…” Azelf finished weakly while Dusknoir sped off in the direction of the scream.

* * *

 

“What in the world happened?!” Dusknoir demanded once he had reached the area of the square where the guild was clustered around Laura. She was sitting on the ground, a dazed expression on her face, and being supported by Bidoof because one of her arms was stuck in a sling and the other was too limp to support her weight.

The guild members jumped in surprise at his tone. “D-Dusknoir, sir!” Chatot stammered. “Laura… ah… it appears that the excitement of the day was a bit too much for her…”

“I’ll say! She nearly _fainted_!” Bidoof exclaimed.

Dusknoir put his hand to his face and sighed. “You should not be up and about yet, Laura. You need to recover more.”

“We TRIED to tell her that before the meeting, but did she listen? NO,” Loudred huffed in an attempt to hide his worry.

“…S-sorry…” Laura mumbled, finally catching up with the conversation.

Dusknoir sighed again and bent over to pick her up. Everyone displayed expressions of shock.

“Come. Let’s get you home,” he told her, beginning to float off in the direction of the guild. The other members quickly scurrying along beside him.

“Ah! Dusknoir, sir, you don’t have to do that!” Chatot exclaimed. “One of the other apprentices can—!”

Dusknoir cut him off. “It’s no trouble,” he assured.

Laura opened her mouth to say something, but then her expression became dazed again and her eyes acquired a far-off look. They stayed like that a few moments before she blinked and began to stare at Dusknoir in wonder.

* * *

 

Laura was placed in her room and promptly fell asleep. Later that night, just before dinner, Paula woke her up to give her food and medicine.

“You really should be more careful, Laura,” she told her in a serious tone.

“…Sorry,” she said quietly, looking down.

Paula sighed, “It’s okay.” She got up to leave for dinner (since she didn’t have as many injuries and wasn’t confined to her bed) “I’ll try to be quiet when I get back—I want you to get a good night’s rest. And don’t worry about Grovyle—the great Dusknoir is _sure_ to catch him!”

“I know,” Laura replied happily. “I had a Dimensional Scream while he was carrying me.”

“Really?” Paula asked, full of curiosity. “What was it about?”

“It was dark, so I couldn’t really see much, but I heard him tell someone, ‘I finally succeeded… in the capture, yes.’ Then I saw a pair of glowing, red eyes…”

“That’s great!” Paula exclaimed. “I’m not so sure what the deal was about the eyes… but at least we know that Grovyle will be caught,” she said. Then she thought of something and frowned. “Well… assuming that was a vision from the future. I really hope it was…”

Laura shrugged and wrinkled her nose at the medicine in her hands. She gagged a bit at the taste as it went down, and then she replied to Paula with, “I hope so too… not knowing really bugs me.” Then she shrugged. “But I guess that’s just one of the drawbacks of the Dimensional Scream ability.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Any questions for me or the characters? Feel free to follow me on Tumblr!
> 
> The web address is: http://catflowerqueen.tumblr.com/
> 
> Anons are welcome!


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